Local News

Wednesday, May 18 — There are 50 Boys’ and Girls’ Industrial Clubs with over 750 members in New Mexico. Sixteen counties now have flourishing organizations of young folks engaged in splendid work. Curry County has the most, 16 clubs with 236 members; San Miguel County has two clubs and 23 members. The purpose of the industrial clubs is to extend agricultural education and improve farming over New Mexico.

Michael McGarrity, author of the Kevin Kerney crime novels, will be at Tome on the Range, 158 Bridge St., at 3 p.m. this Sunday to sign his new book, Hard Country: A Novel of the Old West. The book is the first in a trilogy, chronicling the tragedies and triumphs of the fictional Kerney’s ancestors from 1875 through World War I as they settled New Mexico.

Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a west wind 10-15 mph, increasing to 20-25 mph. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Partly cloudy at night, with a low around 47. Breezy, with a west wind 20-25 mph, decreasing to 10-15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph.

Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 78. West wind 10-15 mph. Mostly cloudy at night, with a low around 44.

LOS ANGELES — Sunrises and sunsets often dazzle, but they’ll have a special ring to them in a few days for people in the western United States and eastern Asia: The moon will slide across the sun, blocking everything but a blazing halo of light.

It’s been almost two decades since a “ring of fire” eclipse was visible in the continental United States. To celebrate the end of that drought, nearly three dozen national parks in the path of the eclipse will host viewing parties.

The 21st annual Kiwanis Bike Safety Rodeo is set for 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Wilson Complex parking lot on the campus of New Mexico Highlands University.

Children ages 5 to 12 are invited to participate. An entry fee of $5 is required which includes a new bicycle helmet. Participants with a safe and legal helmet will be admitted for $1. Entry fees are used to help defray the helmet costs. The child provides the bicycle, and a parent is required to accompany the child.

The proposal to move to a four-day school week at Las Vegas City Schools is drawing both criticism and praise from parents.

Superintendent Sheryl McNellis-Martinez recently announced that the district is considering implementing the four-day weeks for students next year. To make up the time, students will be in school for longer days. McNellis-Martinez has said that the Fridays students are off would be used for professional development for staff.

Las Vegas City Schools board member Ernesto Salazar questioned the validity of superintendent Sheryl McNellis-Martinez’s comment that the district will end this fiscal year in the black during a board meeting late last week.

Salazar, a local banker, said he is not completely sure that her information is correct.